Where The Heart Is: A Bay City Paranormal Investigations story

the corner of Sommer’s mouth. He was just led by what is probably the ghost of his mother to what is most likely her skeletal remains, and he’s just spent hours being grilled by the police. He’s not going to want sex right now.
Sommer’s eyelids rose slowly, as if it was a great effort. The whites of his eyes were bloodshot. He yawned, his gaze going unfocused for a moment.
“Sommer, you’re exhausted.” Dean moved his hand up to rake through Sommer’s hair. “Go get some sleep.”
Shaking his head, Sommer rose to his feet and went to lean against the counter. “Can’t right now. Rich’ll be here any minute, I’ll need to let him know what happened. And I need to call Lisa and tell her she doesn’t have to come cook lunch. And I should probably help Rich clean the rooms.”
Pushing away from the table, Dean stood and walked over to stand beside Sommer at the counter. “I’ll stay and help you with all that and whatever else needs doing, okay?”
Sommer looked away. “You don’t need to do that.”
“It’s no problem. I want to.” A thought struck Dean. He crossed his arms. “Unless I’m overstepping my boundaries again.”
Evidently Sommer understood the venom in Dean’s voice, because before Dean knew quite what was happening he found himself with his back pressed against the counter, Sommer’s mouth taking his in an aggressive kiss.
Dean gave himself up to it with a soft moan. God, he’d missed the way Sommer’s kisses always made him feel like the world had stopped turning for a while.
When they drew apart, Sommer cupped Dean’s face in his hands and stared hard into Dean’s eyes. “You aren’t overstepping anything. You never did. Those things I said were just me being stupid.” He caressed the corners of Dean’s mouth with his thumbs. “Are we okay, Dean?”
Dean felt no hesitation this time. He laid his hands over Sommer’s. “Yeah. We’re okay.”
The smile he got in return almost made him forget that he would be flying back to Mobile the next day, and he wasn’t sure anything would ever be okay again after that.
    ~ * ~
    Dean rose slowly from a dead sleep to the sound of someone moving around in the next room. He cracked one eye open. He was lying on a large, squashy sofa upholstered in muted maroon and gold, with a round maroon throw pillow under his head and a fluffy white blanket tucked around him. A moment of confusion gave way to the realization that he’d fallen asleep in the parlor.
    He sat up. “Sommer? Where are you?” He had a distinct memory of lying down on the couch for a nap, and that memory included Sommer being with him.
“In the kitchen,” Sommer called. “I made some coffee, come on in.” “’Kay.” Throwing the blanket off, Dean indulged in a luxurious stretch before
    wandering toward the kitchen.
    Yawning, he thought of the previous night and morning with Sommer. It felt good to be back with Sommer, despite everything. Even talking to the police all night instead of sleeping then playing assistant housekeeper all morning was okay because he’d been with Sommer through it all. He hadn’t realized how lost he’d felt without the man until he came back.
    The knowledge that they only had the dwindling remains of this one day left to be together clawed at Dean’s insides. He wished he could ignore it. The thought of leaving Sommer behind forever made him feel desolate.
    It doesn’t have to be that way, you know. You don’t have to get on that plane tomorrow.
The increasingly bold voice in his head was wrong, of course. He did have to go. Tomorrow morning, he was going back home, and that was that. But right here, right now, he was with Sommer, and he intended to make the most of it.
Pushing the morose thoughts to the back of his mind, Dean leaned against the frame of the archway between the parlor and the kitchen and watched Sommer pour hot, fragrant coffee into two large mugs. “Hi.”
Sommer glanced over at him, a bright smile lighting his face. “Hi. Sleep okay?”
Dean nodded, scratching the stubble on his chin. “Like a baby. That couch is pretty comfy.” He peered out the kitchen window. The clouds which had rolled in earlier had opened up. Rain pounded the grass and trees and pinged off the roof of Sommer’s SUV. “What time is it?”
“About four.” Picking up the two mugs, Sommer carried them to the table and sat in one of the chairs. “Oh, I forgot to get the creamer out.”
“’S okay, I know where it is.”